


Do you have a tutorial for this?

by Ferosorio



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Found Family, M/M, Minor Character Death, Single Parent Steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:55:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29271348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ferosorio/pseuds/Ferosorio
Summary: With Mary no longer there with them, it's Steve's sole responsibility to take care of Joanie.Thank God for the internet, and Danny, for that matter.
Relationships: Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Comments: 32
Kudos: 155





	Do you have a tutorial for this?

**Author's Note:**

> First I want to thank Bourbonmouse for being the beta of this work. Thank you so much for everything, you rock! 
> 
> This fic is based on a prompt from the 5-0 writters' Discord. It was prompted by Casey and it says: "Danny is an accidentally famous youtuber in the vein of "Dad How Do I...? except him talking other single dad's through all the stuff he wished he knew when he became a father and Steve, adopting Jean after Mary cannot cope/having child alone himself, watches him religiously and figures out, from stuff Danny says and the view from his yard when Danny films outside, that Danny is in Hawaii too"
> 
> Remember English is not my first language, so please be gentle. Let me know what you think about it!

The number of people who arrive at the service is impressive. He didn’t know his sister knew so many different people, especially in Hawaii where she didn’t spend as much time as in the mainland. The funeral home is beautifully decorated, the flowers match perfectly the mixed ambiance of peace and sorrow, there are a few candles with a mellow scent of lilacs and vanilla, and both at the entrance and beside the casket, portraits in digital photo frames broadcast beautiful pictures of his sister. Steve knew that, if Mary were alive, she would have commented on the little, thoughtful details of the funeral home that the staff of the funeral home and Steve’s friends made for her. 

But now she’s gone, forever. Her body resting peacefully, dressed in a pale yellow dress, in a soft brown casket. Surrounded by flowers, white plushy silk, and with a gentle smile on her face, Mary Ann McGarrett receives the last goodbyes of the people that love her and know her. 

The flow of people seems never-ending, coming and going, approaching him so they can give him their condolences. Steve has lost count of how many people he had shaken hands. And he admits, feeling guilty, incredibly guilty, that he uses Joan to avoid greeting some people. Joanie, who’s currently sleeping against Danny’s broad chest, while Danny is standing loyally beside him. And that’s the place where his partner has been since Steve received the news of her sister’s passing. 

It doesn’t matter how many people have assisted or will arrive at Mary’s memorial, the only people Steve really cares about are the ones standing close to him right now. Danny, always Danny, at his right with Steve’s niece in his chest. Grace, who refused to leave Steve’s side since Rachel dropped her off at the funeral home. Chin, who arranged everything in the service so it was more intimate and personalized. And Kono, that had stepped up and spoke for him when Steve couldn’t find what to say or how to reply. His team always had his back when they were on the field. Now, while enduring the aftermath of his sister’s death and newfound parenthood, he still feels supported. 

“We’re right here, babe,” Danny assures him, rubbing Steve’s back with the hand that isn’t holding Joan, “and we’re not going anywhere.”

Steve counts on that. 

\--

According to Steve, there’s only one constant for Mary in her whole life.

When she was five, she wanted to try soccer. It lasted three weeks. When the soccer fever was over, she wanted to play basketball. She even convinced their parents to buy her a t-shirt and everything, and the whole ordeal lasted three months until she got bored. She learned how to surf thanks to Mamo, but she barely used her board, even if she had begged their parents to buy it. The same thing happened with ballet, roller derby, lacrosse, hockey, baseball, and mountain biking. It was a similar situation with music tastes, boyfriends, clothing, hairstyles, and eating habits. 

But she was adamant as hell to keep her baby. 

It didn’t really surprise Steve when Mary, after a never ending stream of boyfriends and late-night parties, fell pregnant. What he didn’t expect was Mary wanting to keep the baby. 

Steve didn’t particularly have an opinion about abortion. He was a man unable to get pregnant, so Steve believes he really doesn’t have the right to an opinion about it. With that said, Steve always thought Mary would have an abortion. When she said she didn’t want to abort, Steve thought she’ll want to give the baby up for adoption. But his sister wasn’t planning on adoption either. 

She wanted to keep the baby. 

In retrospect, Steve should have been more supportive, more present. But he was concerned; Mary wasn’t capable of keeping a plant alive, he didn’t trust her to take care of another human being. She didn’t have a stable income or housing. And she abused substances constantly! Steve was _worried_ , and justifiably so. 

But Mary was adamant. She kept her baby, got her act together, and gave birth to a healthy, beautiful, and lovely girl that she named Joan Stefany. And for six months she was the best version of herself for her daughter. Until a fateful day of October when she suffered a stroke and passed away. 

Steve wasn’t there for his sister when she was pregnant, and he regrets it. So he promises himself that he will take care of the only thing his sister cared about in her life: her daughter. 

\--

The first two weeks were difficult. They weren’t a complete disaster, mainly because Danny stayed with him the whole time. Joanie took two days to get used to her new house and room, and not be scared of the lights and sounds of Steve’s - now their - place. But it was evident she missed her mom; it didn’t help that Steve was also grieving the loss of his little sister. 

Joan cried constantly during the first week, for every reason. Sometimes it was a sudden movement, or hunger, or boredom, a loud noise, uncomfortableness, dirty diaper, a toy missing, or a toy too close to her. But Steve knew it was the lack of Mary in her life. Joan was too little to understand what was going on, but Steve was familiar with the feeling of losing a parent, and he knew that, in her own unique baby way, Joanie was suffering from that. 

After she got used to her bedroom and the smell of both Steve and Danny, she had no difficulties falling asleep, the problem was making her stay like that for more than two hours straight. Danny suggested that a warm bottle and some skin on skin contact could help, and in a week Joan’s sleeping schedule was better. It wasn’t good or normal by any means, so the pediatrician insisted on telling them, but at least she slept more than four hours in a row. It helped that Joanie nursed from a bottle since the beginning because Mary was unable to produce milk. So for the first two weeks, it was a blur of sleepless nights, where Steve and Danny passed the little baby to each other and tried to get her used to her new life. 

The free time the Governor granted them to take care of everything and the wonders Grace’s company did to Joan’s humor were a blessing. Everything was worth it, in Steve’s opinion, when he heard Joanie’s laugh when they played with her, or saw her beautiful smile when Danny put a bubble mohawk on her bald head when they were bathing her for the first time. Those were sacred memories Steve wanted to treasure his whole life. Lucky for them, Grace was there to take pictures of some of the best moments. 

It was the day Danny left to go sleep in his own house for the first time in two weeks when Steve realized something really important. He had never, ever, changed Joan’s diaper. 

Steve could disassemble and put back together a gun in less than a minute, diffuse a bomb with relative ease, and list which parts of the human body were more effective for torture. But he had never changed a diaper in his life. And now, looking at poor little Joanie, who was uncomfortable in her soiled and smelly diaper, he was afraid. Afraid of hurting her, of doing something to damage her, or cause her a rash, or put the diaper in the wrong way and ending with poop everywhere. Joan was so small, Steve could barely cope with the fact that he needed to burp her after she drank her bottle, always afraid of patting her too hard or grabbing her too tight. Changing her diaper, cleaning such delicate parts of her, and handling her just right seemed impossible. 

“It’s ok, Cupcake,” Steve tries to comfort Joan by rubbing her belly, she’s starting to get fussy but settles a little bit under her uncle’s soft touch. Her routine dictates a change of diapers, a warm bottle, and going back to sleep after some cuddles. She’s not liking the change of plans at three in the morning. “We’ll figure this out.” 

Suddenly Steve remembers something. 

Last week, Kono sent him a link to a YouTube video of a guy talking about what kind of bottles were best for children depending on their age. The guy also taught how to warm milk perfectly with or without a microwave. Maybe someone on the internet had advice on how to change diapers. Sure enough, the same guy had a tutorial on how to change diapers with tips and tricks. He didn’t show his face, Steve could only see his arms and hands. He didn’t talk either, the video had subtitles explaining everything in detail. In five minutes he explained the basics with a baby doll and then proceeded to show how to change the diaper on top of a clothed, squirmy, real toddler whose face was blurred. Steve thought it was a good move, respecting their child’s privacy and also keeping weirdos out of the comment section. 

The user “njsauceandmotz”, with his channel titled “Single Dads, step by step”, was incredibly useful. That night, after Joan goes back to sleep with a belly full of warm milk and a clean diaper, Steve falls into the hole of YouTube recommendations. He learns how to give a relaxing massage to a baby, how to work their leg strength, and so on. Steve discovers that the videos are quite old and that the theme of the more recent ones are about teenagers and makeup, how to deal with puberty and menstruation cycles. The little brown-haired toddler of the first videos is now a teenager who only appears when _njsauceandmotz_ is explaining new hairstyles or re-making some old videos. 

In the end, he manages to sleep for two hours, but he feels more rested and confident. Joanie and he survived their first night alone together with almost no problems. Danny arrives at seven a.m, sharp, with takeout breakfast, two steamy cups of coffee, some baby formula he picked up from the store, and a happy Grace in tow, eager to cuddle up with the baby and give her her first bottle of the morning. 

When Danny smiles at him over his cup of coffee, a little bit flirty by Steve’s standards, he knows he’s got this. After proving himself that he can take care of Joan by himself, the knowledge that a random guy from the internet can help him out, and the constant presence of two very loud but very loving Williamses, Steve knows he can do this. 

\-- 

“I can’t give her _this._ ” 

“I’m not saying it’s the healthiest, but it is convenient for someone with your schedule.” 

“But this has so many additives, colorants, and preservatives! She doesn’t need sunset yellow or allura red! And why glucose syrup in a dessert? They’re supposed to be healthy!” 

“They are bad, but they help you if you’re in a hurry. I’m not going to judge a parent who can only feed their child store-bought baby food.”

“I’m not judging. I’m just saying that I don’t want to feed that crap to my niece .”

“And what are you going to do? Buy her things from the vending machine?”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“ _I’m_ being ridiculous? _Me?_ You know you can make your own baby food, right? That’s what I did with Grace, every single meal since she could eat it pureed. I’ll make a batch of something with lots of vegetables and protein, blend it up and store it in some containers. I even froze it to have more food in hand. And so did my parents and sisters.” 

“What kind of blender?”

“Immersion blender.”

“You can do that?”

“Are you being intentionally obtuse today? Because if what you just say is true, I’m leaving. And I’m taking Cupcake and Monkey with me.”

As if on cue, Grace arrives with Joanie. The baby is sitting in one of those baby-seats attached to the shopping cart, happily kicking her legs and watching the different colors and shapes of the food and supplies. Grace took her for a short stroll in the aisle when she realized her dad and uncle started to argue about the kind of containers baby-food was put in. It seems that they moved their discussion to ingredients, and in Grace’s opinion that was progress. 

“Where are we going?” Grace asks.

"To search for containers and an immersion blender,” Steve says, walking away from the baby-food section. 

“Yay! Maybe we can pick something that has a little bit of pink glitter. What do you say, Cupcake?” Grace asks Joanie, tickling her belly. The baby doesn’t reply, but she throws her little chubby arms in the air, laughing delighted. 

“That sounds like a solid ‘yes’,” Danny says to Steve. “That’s the start of a glitter bomb, my friend.”

Steve shrugs, whatever makes Joan happy. 

It’s been exactly five weeks since Steve’s been taking care of the baby by himself. Time has passed and Steve has to go back to work, full time. Governor Denning agreed to give him more flexibility and extend his insurance to Joan, but he needed the Commander of his task force back in the field. With the help of Danny, Kono, and Chin, they have slowly introduced Joanie to attend the police department daycare. The first two days she completely hated it, cried every single time one of them disappeared from her sight. But by the end of the first week, she didn’t even notice they left, enjoying the toys and the company of other little kids. Next Monday Joan would stay the whole day for the first time, and that included lunchtime. Steve thought, innocently, that just some formula and her favorite bottle would do the trick. 

Their doctor didn’t share that opinion. 

That day Danny and Grace went with him for Joan’s seven-month medical check-up. She was healthy, strong, and had all her vaccines. Before finishing the appointment, the doctor said that Joan needed to start eating something besides milk or she’ll start losing weight too fast. So Steve had a new mission, to cook _real_ food for his niece and make sure she had said real food for her lunch at the daycare. He didn’t think it was that complicated. But as with most things rewarding his new parental role, he was wrong. 

“I can help you out if you wait for me until tomorrow, making sure she eats right and all” Danny says. 

They finished their shopping and were standing in the parking lot; Joan securely strapped in her car seat in the Silverado, and Grace waiting for Danny in the Camaro, making funny faces at Joan through the window. 

“It’s fine. It’s not rocket science, I’ll manage to do some stew and blend it up. You go and have that teacher, parent, student meeting, and then you can tell me how amazing they think our big girl is. I’ll get Joanie used to a spoon.”

Danny beams at him for a second, not letting slip the fact that Steve said ‘our big girl’, but then frowned in worry, biting his bottom lip. Since Danny won shared custody with Grace, the dynamic between Steve and Danny’s relationship changed drastically. Steve became more involved with Grace, and the amount of time they spent together was ridiculous. With Joan’s arrival, it got worse. Or better, so, so, so, much better. They still hadn’t done anything yet, something was missing, maybe a push to get them together and confess their feelings for each other, but it wasn’t the right time yet. In the meantime, they enjoyed the prelude, the flirting, and the tension in between them.

“Are you sure? I don’t want Duke to call me because you managed to make an explosion out of Joan’s first meal.”

“Stop worrying, Danno, and go,” Steve teases.

“I can’t...it’s my thing, I worry...” Danny admits, sighing and looking at Joan. “Promise me you’ll record her, yeah? I don’t want to miss it.”

Steve smiles at him. Part of him is tempted to say that he’ll wait for Danny, but he really needs to make sure Joan is used to eating anything besides milk before going to the daycare full-time next week. 

“I promise,”

\-- 

Of course the first thing he does is watch _Single Dads: Step by Step_. And of course he has a complete playlist about baby food and diet in general for kids. The tutorial showed exactly what Danny had told Steve: BPA-free airtight containers, an immersion blender and lots of stew-like concoctions. Steve settled for a simple potato and carrot mixture. Once he was happy with the temperature of the food, he sat Joanie in her high chair, struggling a little bit trying to put the bib on her - with little smiley cupcakes printed on it - and making sure the bowl with food wasn’t close to Joan’s reach. 

“Ok, we can do this,” Steve says, and the baby just looks at him, curious. 

Following every tip and trick of the Youtube channel and with a lot of paper towels, dinner time with Joan is a relative success. Maybe there’s more food in the tray of the highchair and in Steve’s hand than inside Joanie’s tummy. But she liked the food and the choo-choo train, even smiled at Steve’s cellphone when he was recording a little clip of Joan trying to lick a stain of puree on her cheek. 

Just as _njsauceandmotz,_ and a very well timed text message from Danny, suggested Joanie is really sleepy after her first meal. Steve changes her diaper, makes sure to burp her really well, and she’s out like a light before even touching her crib. Just because he can, Steve snaps a picture of the baby sleeping and sends it to Danny. His partner is delighted and demands the video of Joanie’s first dinner. 

With the baby already asleep and no one in the house to make him company, Steve finds himself with free time. For the first time in a long time, he sits down in his father’s desk, takes out his laptop and watches every single video of baby food in the playlist of _Single Dads: step by step_. He prints the recipes and makes sure to write a shopping list for a well stocked pantry, fridge and storage room. If he ends with too many recipes for just one tiny child and a little bit in love with how smooth, sure and secure _njsauceandmotz_ hands move and demonstrate things, it’s nobody’s business. 

It is his free time. 

\-- 

The next day Danny arrives with a bag full of fresh fruit, determined to make Joanie’s first fruit dessert. The detective is elated when she practically inhales her portion of mango sauce, but is just as disappointed when she eats pineapple sauce with the same enthusiasm. Steve’s just glad his niece is not a picky eater like her mom. 

Time passes and Joan grows and grows. Taking care of a child, being a father - even if he insists on calling himself ‘uncle’ - it’s hard, it’s incredibly complicated. No training or mission with the Navy could have prepared him for this. But at the same time, Steve feels like he has a purpose in life, that loving and taking care of Joan is exactly what he was supposed to be doing. The loss of his sister is always present, Joan looks so much like Mary that sometimes it hurts to look at her, but Steve tries to think that she’s the only thing he has left of his sister. 

“You always complained that Mary wasn’t raised right. Maybe the gods gave you an opportunity in here. it’s their way of saying ‘so you didn’t like how Mary was raised? Here you go, your own little Mary, brand new, let’s see how you do,” Kono said to him one day they had to leave Joan with one of Kono’s aunties because they had to work late. 

Steve doesn’t reply. He remembers the situation vividly because he was still wearing his vest, was covered in blood and smelled really bad, but when Joan saw him she practically threw herself to him. Not caring about anything, just wanting to be close to her favorite person, smacking noisy and dramatic kisses against his stubbled cheek. The fact that she did the same when she spotted Danny was a sweet bonus. 

Steve didn’t like to think that Joan _was_ Mary. She was part of her, of course. And judging by the behavior of Mary’s life after she knew about the pregnancy, Joan was the most important part of Mary’s life. But she was her own little unique person. She looked a lot like Mary and acted a little bit like her, but she seemed to share a lot of similarities with Steve. Joan behaved a lot like Danny, too: she’s loud, babbles all the time, demands with hands and legs, and loves tomato soup. 

Despite everything (the sleepless nights, the incredible amount of money spent on diapers, the constant care, the forced schedule, the back and knee pains, the stress of Joan wanting to put _everything_ in her mouth, the uncountable favors he owns the Kelly-Kalakaua family for babysitting at ungodly hours, and so on), she’s an amazing baby and makes Steve feel blessed every single day. It keeps him busy, more busy than anything in his life, but she’s the sunshine of his life, the cupcake of his heart. 

A life with a baby is so busy that Steve blames that for not realizing what was going on sooner.

\-- 

The first clear signals are the hands. 

It’s Friday night and Grace and Danny are staying over. 

Joan woke up around midnight, but after some cuddles and nuzzling against Danny’s chest while they were watching a movie with Gracie, she fell back asleep. When Danny went upstairs to leave her in her crib, Steve noticed that Grace had also fallen asleep on the couch. With the same care he’ll have with Joanie, he took her in his arms and carried her to her own room, tucking her in and making sure the windows in her room were closed and secured. 

“Wanna finish the movie or follow the kids to bed?” Danny asked when they met in the hall. Steve was going to reply but a yawn interrupted him, making both men chuckle. After a shared ‘good night’ each man went to their own rooms. 

Usually, when the house was filled with Williams’s company, Steve didn’t have problems falling asleep and staying like that until Joanie woke him up. But that night, a nightmare clawed at his mind and pinched his soul until he woke up, covered in sweat and panting. Steve doesn’t remember what he dreamt, but the awful feeling persists, and he knows he’ll be unable to go back to sleep. 

He slowly makes his way downstairs in search of a glass of cold water, but he stops at the end of the stairs when he notices the TV on, no sound coming out of it. Sitting on the couch, feet on the coffee table and wireless headphones on, Danny watches a show about towing cars in Miami. Steve plops down besides Danny, their arms touching. Danny opens his right arm and Steve snuggles up to him, resting his head against Danny’s shoulder while the Detective slowly caresses Steve’s right arm. 

One of the things Steve finds attractive in men are their hands, and how they can use said hands. In Danny’s case that specific trait is out of this world, and Steve doesn’t pay as much time as he should be appreciating them. Danny’s hands are mesmerizing, strong, capable, deft. They can hold a gun and shoot with precision, but at the same time they can caress, and heal, and be really, really soft. Steve loves Danny’s hands, and now he’s looking at them enchanted, hypnotized in their slow but tender move against his own arm. They’re warm and solid and _oh so good_ against the naked skin of his arm. 

But they look oddly familiar, like he has seen them before in another place. But he can’t pinpoint exactly where. So Steve looks at them some more, fixating on the raised knuckles, the soft and almost golden hairs in them, the little scars that are only visible in contrast with the light of the television…

Steve wakes up, starled, Grace with Joanie in her arms looking down at him, or at them. Somehow during the night, Danny and he managed to fall asleep. They’re sideways on the couch, similar to the position they had when they were just watching the TV but more laid back, and he’s almost completely on top of Danny. 

“She already had her bottle, but I’m kind of hungry and you promised me scrambled eggs, Uncle Steve,” Grace says, bouncing Joanie on her hip, making the baby laugh and hug Grace to herself. 

“Uh?” Steve asks, still half asleep, sitting on the couch. “You fed her?” 

“Uh, yeah…she started crying and I was already in the hallway bathroom. Besides, you looked really comfy twenty minutes ago,” Grace replies. 

Steve can’t help but smile at her. Besides him, Danny starts to wake up, stirring slowly and blinking up at the two girls. 

“Monkey? Cupcake?” Danny yawns. “Wha y’doin’ ‘ere?” He sits up, and he’s still so close to Steve that Steve can feel Danny’s body heat. 

“Reminding Uncle Steve he promised us ‘the best scrambled eggs on the island’.”

“Uh, that’s right, babe. You did.” Danny smiles at him, eyes still sleepy. “Maybe we can introduce this little Cupcake to some scrambled egg yolk. What do you say?” Danny says as he stands up and takes Joan out from Grace’s hold. The baby snuggles right up to Danny and laughs, happy.

Steve feels his heart expand, too much love for his little family. With Joanie’s priceless face when she tastes the bland but new scrambled egg yolk every thought of hands and internet tutorials is out of his mind. 

\--

The second signal is _sauceandmotz_ ’s backyard view. 

“Listen to me, young lady,” Steve says, trying to keep a stern tone. He’s almost completely relieved but still worried about what almost happened. “We do not, do not, swallow batteries. Do you understand?”

Joanie just looks at him, her face with tear tracks all over her cheeks, her lip in a sad pout and her eyes glossy. 

“Batteries,” Steve says, showing her the item close, “do not”, he shakes his head from left to right, and shakes his finger in the same direction, “go in the mouth,” Steve points at his mouth and shakes his finger in denial. 

Joan tries to mimic a nod, but mostly just shakes her head, and a few stray tears leave her eyes. 

Steve sighs. 

“It’s ok, it’s all right. Everything is fine now. C’mere, Cupcake,” Steve says as he picks up Joanie and hugs her close. She latches to him, hugging him close to her, grabbing the back of his shirt in between her fists. “I didn’t mean to yell, baby girl. I’m so sorry, I just got worried. I’m sorry.”

Joan doesn’t make a noise, just grabs Steve tighter, like she’s afraid he’s going to leave. 

Steve was doing laundry, leaving Joanie playing in the living room by herself for just thirty seconds. When he went back to the room, Joanie was trying to fit the two batteries of the remote control inside her mouth. 

“No!” Steve shouted, harsh and demanding. A hundred and one bad scenarios passed through his mind at the thought of Joan swallowing one of the cylinders. “Spit that out right now!” he yelled, running to her and taking the batteries out of her mouth in one swift move. 

Joan looked at him, scared, and with two sniffs, she started to cry. Scared and afraid of Steve’s sudden reaction. Tears striking down her face, her body shaking, letting out a piercing shriek that broke Steve’s heart. 

Calming her down took a while, and he tried to remember everything Danny and _sauceandmotz_ had told him. So he tried to explain to Joan what had happened. Danny said that they could understand perfectly fine if you explained in the right way. 

“Okay, now,” says Steve after a while, looking at Joan and cleaning her face with his hand. “So, what do we say to batteries in the mouth?” Steve asks, pointing at the items that were now in the coffee table. 

“Blah-bluh-pa-pa-unk!” Joan bables with a serious face, looking at Steve straight in the eye. Like whatever that she said, was serious and important. 

“I believe you, Cupcake. Never again. And I promise I’ll try to handle these things better” Joan just hugs him again, sucking up all the contact she needs. 

He finishes laundry with Joan at his hip, she’s entertained by biting the rubbery parts of her giraffe stuffed animal, and shaking it so the different parts of its body sound. 

“All done, what do you say we had over to Danno’s now?” Steve asks, and Joanie’s face lightens up, she drops her girafe and throws her and in the air, excited, jumping up and down against Steve’s body. “Hear you loud and clear, cupcake.”

After a really fun afternoon filled with hand painting, block construction, smashing toys together, and some tomato sauce with pureed potatoes and meat for lunch, Joan falls asleep like a rock for her 3 p.m nap. Grace promises to stay on the lazy chair in her bedroom - where they usually let Joan sleep when she was there - keepingJoanie company and making sure she’s all right during her nap. 

“So she gave you a scare, uh?” Danny asks as Steve sits in front of him in the living area.

He rarely sits there, usually they hang in the little terrace outside of Danny’s bedroom. Danny’s apartment has a common living area where the couches and the dinner table share space, with a huge window looking to the west side of the island. It’s way, way better than the first two apartments he had in the past. It’s actually pretty nice, and it also has space for Grace, so that’s a bonus. Steve’s just not used to this view. 

“Fuck,” Steve replies, and sighs, letting his body fall against the back of the couch. “Thought I was going to lose my mind when I saw her with the batteries halfway in her throat,” he admits, “but I reacted so badly, she was so scared…”

“Don’t blame yourself,” Danny says, curtly. “Is not good for you, or Joan. It’s done, and you apologized. Just try to keep the Commander's voice out of the house, yelling is no good.”

“I know, I know,”

“And you were scared. It’s the first time she does something so dangerous besides trying to get up the stairs,” Danny says with a soft voice, smiling at him, touching Steve’s knee in a gentle gesture. 

“Those stairs, man. We gotta go buy that baby gate as soon as possible,” Steve groans. 

“I hear you, and I think after Cupcake wakes up we should go get one. But first, I want to know what is really bothering you,” Danny says, Steve just avoids his eyes. 

Danny is an amazing Detective; it was obvious he couldn’t hide what was going on for long before his friend felt that something wasn’t quite right. And frankly, since he received _it_ on Friday, he’s been jumpy and overprotective of Joan. Steve tries to find the words, how can he explain why something so common and normal to him suddenly feels like the worst thing ever? He’s bad at feelings, he knows it, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t _feel_ them. Steve just looks at the window in front of him, watching the clear sky, the shapes of the mountains, how the leaves of the palm trees move with the warm breeze...it feels really familiar, like he had seen it before. Steve doesn’t know where, he knows that the Hawaiian landscape is very familiar to him, but there’s something more about this… where had he seen a similar view? 

“Steve?” Danny calls his name. Steve shakes his head, coming out of his focus on the window. 

Right. The thing. 

“Joanie is going to be one year old pretty soon,” Steve says. 

“I’m aware,” Danny replies. 

“That means that she’s been with us almost six months...and that’s the amount of time the Navy allowed me to stay home from Reserves Training. Yesterday I got an email. I have to be there for my monthly weekend of training next week. I can’t postpone it any longer.”

Danny just looks at him, in silence, for a long while. Danny rubs his mouth with his hands and then lets out a big sigh. 

“Are you worried something is going to happen to you?” Danny asks finally. 

“That’s part of it. But I’m worried about taking care of her. I can’t leave her alone for a whole weekend, and-” Steve tries to explain, but Danny kicks him in the legs with his own feet. 

“You’re a stupid, stupid, neanderthal animal. Is that really what you’ve been worrying about!? Who would take care of Joanie when you’re gone?! I wanna hit you so fucking hard right now, Steven. So bad...Jesus. You’re stupid, you know that right?” Danny starts to rant, hands moving everywhere and cheeks red out of anger. 

“Why are you mad now? What the hell did I do?”

“I’ll give you points for that. For knowing exactly it’s your fault!” Danny kicks him again, but Steve manages to avoid it. “I can take care of Joan. It’s not a problem. I would _love_ to stay with her while you’re training.”

“Really?” Steve blinks at him. Danny’s a really busy man, he already has a child of his own, besides a lot of work with Five-0. And he knows that because Steve is his boss. 

“Of course!” Danny doesn’t yell, he’s too aware of the sleeping baby next room. “What kind of question is that? It’s like I would ever doubt asking you to take care of Grace.”

“You know I love her like she’s my own child,” Steve replies, quickly. 

“I know, babe, I know. And maybe Joan it’s not mine biologically, or yours. But dammit, Steve...I love her, ok? I will take care of her.”

Steve looks away from Danny’s face again, back at the window. He tries to distract his mind and slow his heart by looking at the window. His chest feels like bursting from love for Danny, so he tries to think and track where he remembers the landscape of the window...suddenly it hits: he had seen it in some of _Single dads, step by step_ videos, it’s literally close to the location where _saucenadmotz_ records his tutorials. He knew the man was from the US, but he never thought he'd live in the same state as him. He must be Danny’s neighbor or live in the same area. 

But that’s not the moment to be thinking about a Youtuber. 

“Thank you,” Steve whispers, looking at Danny with a smile. 

Danny just smiles back at him when they hear a loud ‘OH MY GOD’ coming from Grace’s room and then the girl is calling out for them. 

“Danno! Uncle Steve! Come here quick! Oh my God!”

They’re out of their seats and running towards the next room in the blink of an eye. Steve expected a catastrophe, some kind of accident, maybe poop and puke everywhere, or Joanie trapped behind the bed because she rolled while sleeping or…

Whatever but Joanie sitting on Grace lap, smiling her beautiful three teeth smile and clapping her hands. 

“What is going on?” Danny asks, a slight annoyed tone on his voice. 

“Look! Please,” Grace says before focusing her eyes on Joan. “Cupcake, who am I?” Grace asks

“Ace!” Joan replies, happily, touching Grace’s face. “Ace! Ace!” 

“Oh my God,” Steve mumbles. “That can’t...did you just say your first word, Joan?” Steve gets closer to the girls and picks Joan out of Grace’s lap, holding the baby against his hip. “Ok, baby. Who’s that?” Steve asks, pointing at Grace.

“Ace,” she says with a tired tone, like the question he’s asking is ridiculous. 

“Look at that, Monkey, you’re Cupcake’s first world,” Danny says, his voice tight, his eyes glossy with unshed tears. 

“That she is,” Steve says, amazed, unable to tear his eyes from his two girls. 

Steve is tired, dog tired. But he wants to get home and see his family more than anything. The knowledge that once everything was done, he’ll be received by Danny, Grace and Joan is keeping him awake. Danny moved temporarily to his house so Joanie got more used to seeing him in the house and not feel strange when it was only Danny.

The debriefing feels eternal, and so does the taxi ride home. It’s Sunday night, and it seems like everyone thought it was a good time to go back home. Training wasn’t bad, but he could tell that the six months without that kind of exercise took a toll on him. But he doesn’t want to think about that anymore. He just wants to get home and the ride to his house to be already over. So, trying to get his mind out of the anxiety bucket, he takes out his phone and watches the last video of _sauceandmotz_ titled “What kind of UV clothing is better for babies and answering questions about seashells and sea salt”. He gets interested immediately because Steve was thinking about buying Joan more sun-safe clothing for her to go to the beach. 

The video is nice, is mostly clothes against a carpet and tips on what you had to pay attention to, places to buy, prices and how to clean them. But in the last five minutes, the camera angle changes and it shows the beach while nj _sauceandmotz_ answers the most asked questions his followers made. But not just any beach...Steve knows that beach like the back of his palm because it’s the beach behind Pikoii Street. Did he move? Did he have a friend who was Steve’s neighbor? Maybe…

But he doesn’t finish that thought because the taxi stops outside his house and the eagerness to get out the taxi and inside the house wins. He pays the driver, takes his backpack and, pocketing his phone, he nearly jogs to the front door. 

He’s about to knock when the doors open and is Danny, holding a very eager to see him Joan who nearly throws herself to the ground in her hasty moves to get to Steve. Steve drops his bag to the ground and takes the baby. She hugs him really tight and starts to babble, and Steve is surprised he can hear more clear and defined sounds, and Grace's name is said a lot of times. 

“Welcome home, babe,” says Danny, hugging the side that is not monopolized by Joan, and kisses Steve delicately on the cheek. 

“It’s good to be home,” Steve replies, hugging Danny close to him, kissing his cheek in return. 

“Uncle Steve!” Grace comes running down the stairs, and then she’s hugging him too. 

Steve doesn’t have more arms to hug her back, but he enjoys her closeness anyway. 

“We have a surprise for you!” Grace says animatedly as they make their way towards the dining table. They had prepared some snacks, charcuterie boards and juices to celebrate his arrival. 

“More than this?” Steve asks, touched by the gesture of a welcome party. 

“I hope you’re ready, babe. Because I cried,” Danny says, taking out a piece of cheese and plopping it on his mouth. 

Steve looks at him in question, but Danny just shrugs. 

“Who’s that, Joanie? Who is he?” Grace asks, pointing at Steve. 

“Unk!” She replies, touching Steve’s chest and smiling at him. “Unk Eeh!”

Steve is so happy - and busy trying to hide his tears - that he totally forgets about _sauceandmotz’_ s new background. 

\--

The third signal is _sauceanmotz’_ s posting schedule. 

“I just need two hours of peace, quiet, and loneliness to call my lawyer. _Please_ , Steve.”

Steve just looks at him, squinting his eyes. Charlie and Joan’s shriek of happiness can be heard from the lanai, where Grace is watching them as she scrolls on her iPad. Danny is standing beside the front door, backpack in one shoulder. 

“It’s no problem. You know I love them,” Steve says, still looking at Danny suspiciously. 

“I’m not doubting that, ever,” Danny states, serious. 

“I know. What I want to know is why you were sneaking out of your own home, Daniel.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Bullshit”

“Shhh! What’s wrong with you?! Tiny ears, do you understand. They pick up everything, especially those kinds of words. I thought we already had this conversation.”

“Don’t change the subject! You know I have no problem watching the kids. I have a problem with you sneaking out without telling me. Like...what the...shell, Danny. I thought we were in this together. You know I know you need time to deal things with your lawyer. Or to have time for yourself once in a while.” 

Danny looks guilty, and then sighs. 

“I’ve been...a little overwhelmed with all this,” Danny admits, finally looking at Steve, still looking guilty but honest. “Between work, Charlie, the move, the lawyers with Rachel and with my insurance, Joan’s sudden avocado allergy and Grace’s teenager drama...I just want to eat a freaking malasada while texting with my sister for five minutes.” 

Danny sighs again, his shoulders sags. 

“Shoot, Steve. I was going to call you once I was inside the car, it’s not like I was going to abandon you with the kids. But it was a bad thing to do and I’m sorry. But you know I never meant to hurt you or be dishonest with you. Please, babe, please tell me you know that,” Danny says, suddenly talking fast and with a desperate tone.

“Hey, hey, c’mere, none of that,”

Steve embraces Danny carefully, and the blond man lets himself relax against Steve’s chest. He kisses Danny’s forehead, and when Danny looks up to him, Steve kisses him on the lips, a chaste touch. And then a second time, just because he can. 

“I’m really sorry. It’s just...everything is…” Danny says, but cuts himself. 

“It’s, too much, I know. I know,” Steve finishes for him

“I know you hate lies, and I promised you I wouldn’t ever lie to you. And look at me right now…”

“I know you’re not lying right now,” Steve tries to say, and Danny’s face falls. 

“I’m not. I swear. I really need to see my lawyer about everything that is going on with Charlie's custody and the payment for the treatment at the hospital. But forty minutes tops. Then I need to upload some documents...that’ll take like half an hour. And I don’t know...I thought it was bad of me wanting to have some time to myself while you were here with the three kids, that’s why I thought I wouldn’t tell you straight away...”

“You allow me to have time for myself all of the time. I wouldn’t be able to swim, run, or fish if you’re not here,” Steve declares. They’re still holding each other. “I just thought it was suspicious the way you were going out.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Apology noted and accepted, babe,” Steve replies, mimicking the words Danny likes to say to him when they argue. 

“I know this thing between us is new. So I expected there will be some mishaps, but not this soon and not from me,” Danny says, and he’s smiling mischievously at Steve. 

“Oh? So you thought I’ll mess up?” Steve says, Danny doesn’t reply, just shrugs. “Go, just go, before you make it worse.” Steve waves him off. 

“I’ll be back in two hours tops, babe.”

“If you promise to come back before 1 p.m with lunch from Kamekona, then you can take the whole morning.”

Danny nods at him, grabs his backpack and re-arranges it against his shoulder. 

Steve sighs when Danny leaves, and goes to check up on the kids. Being in a relationship is always hard, even if it’s with the love of your life. 

In the last few months a lot has changed in Steve’s life. Danny and he started dating after Steve finally felt the pull to kiss Danny during Joanie’s first birthday party. Joan started walking and everything got incredibly harder with her. Danny moved in with them when his apartment flooded. Steve was officially co-parenting Grace. He also gained a new step son when Rachel revealed that Charlie was, in fact, Danny's son. But not only that, Charlie needed his help because he was very sick. 

The stress of the procedure to heal Charlie, Danny suing Rachel for custody, Danny's insurance refusing to pay what it was stipulated before the treatment, getting Charlie used to his new family and house...it was a lot. But they managed to stay together. 

Now, Charlie is on his way to a full recovery (the boy said that loves his house at Danno and Steve’s, and he loves to play with Joan) but Danny is still dealing with two lawsuits: one with the insurance company and the other against Rachel. Because even if Rachel had lied about Charlie's paternity, she didn’t want to share the kid's time equally. So Steve had suggested to sue for full custody, promising to support Danny and the kids in everything. So they were in the middle of that. 

It was chaotic but Steve wouldn't have it any other way. 

He loves going to sleep hugging Danny close to him, waking up with Danny cocooned at his side, having the house filled with the noise of happy children, cooking for more than one person, going swimming knowing that when he comes back there will be fresh coffee brewing. He loves it. Loves sharing family pictures of cute or mundane moments in his house through his Facebook. Loves having something happy and beautiful to share with his aunt Deb, and something that makes him proud to brag about to his buddies in the Reserves Training. Steve loves having a family with Danny. 

Joan and Charlie played until it was naptime at eleven a.m. Charlie stayed with Joan until she fell asleep and then he followed Steve in search of Grace. He was a calm kid who went with the flow. Charlie didn’t even bat an eye when Danny told him he was dating Steve, he only cared that Steve had a beach where he could play and a niece to play _with_. He was easy to love, just like his dad, because Steve found himself deeply attached to the boy even after a few days he knew Charlie was biologically Danny’s. 

Steve vacuums and swipes the floors of the living areas while Grace finishes her homework and Charlie plays with his toys. He’s sitting down on his desk to reply to some emails when Charlie approaches him slowly. 

“Can I watch Pocoyo, Uncle Steve?” Charlie asks, pleading brown eyes looking up at him. 

“Sure, Charlie,” Steve replies. 

The boy smiles at him and they both walk towards the Tv. Steve just pressed play to the Pocoyo DVD that Charlie always carries with him when his phone buzzes. The boy is happily watching a pink elephant as Steve sits down besides him, taking his phone out, checking the new notification. 

_Sauceandmotz_ posted a new video. 

As Charlie is avidly watching a duck with a hat inside a bathtub, Steve entertains himself watching “Fifteen tips to make a night-time routine for kids (multiple ages)”, because, as always, the video comes right when Steve needs some advice in getting night-time under control when Charlie is over. 

If he has too much fun watching _njsauceandmotz_ hands and forearms, it’s not his fault. 

In hindsight, agreeing to babysit the two cats and a dog from the neighbor during the night they have Grace and Charlie with them wasn’t a good idea. Or at least not one of the best they’ve had as parents. But the kids are so happy with the pets that both Danny and Steve are trying to ignore the gigantic mess three kids and three animals are making on the floor. Steve is sitting at the dinner table, sipping a beer and reviewing some exercise plans a friend of his from the SEALs asked him to review. 

“Babe,” Danny says, calling his attention while touching Steve’s shoulders, “I’m going to sit down in your office for a few minutes. Windows and blinds closed, I really need to concentrate and reply to some emails about a deposit in my bank and check some other stuff.”

“No problem. Is it about the old apartment?” Steve asks, knowing Danny is being compensated for the flooding of his old place.

“Ugh, yeah. I can’t believe it’s been so long and I still haven’t seen a cent of that money,” Danny complaints, hugging Steve from the back of the chair, placing both arms on his chest.

“And you won’t if you don’t update these,” Steve replies patting the papers in Danny’s hands that now rest against his chest, “and send them to your bank executive and the real estate agent.”

“I know, I know.”

“Go, I’ll watch the beasts and the kids,”

Danny kisses the side of his head and untangles himself from Steve. 

He’s still deeply concentrated on the logic of the training exercises when Steve hears it. The silence. It’s too quiet to be a house filled with kids and pets. He gets up quickly, trying not to think of the massive disaster that must have happened for the kids to be that silent. When he finds them, he almost falls to the ground laughing. 

Grace is standing beside the wall of the office’s windows, a textbook and a notebook in hand. In front of the window, Joan and Charlie are sitting on the ground, playing some version of Operation but with a tree and the pieces are bigger. Besides the kids, Wai (the dog), Ahi (cat 1) and Ea (cat 2), are curled around each other, napping. 

“What are you guys doing? Camping outside the office?” Steve asks, trying not to smile. 

“I...I need help with some homework. Danno said he would help me,” Grace says.

“Miss Dano,” says Joan with a small pout. 

“Yeah...miss Danno, too,” adds Charlie, looking at Joan. 

As if on cue, Wia huffs sofly, and Ahi and Ea purr loudly. It seems they also miss Danny.

“Ok, let’s see. Gracie, if you need help with geography homework, I can help you now.” Grace nods, and goes to find the right textbook in her room. “Joanie, Charlie, you know Danno is busy right now. What if I give you some pretzels with applesauce while you wait for him?” Both kids nod and stand, going to the kitchen. “And for you...I guess I can give you some Churu your owner left for you.” At the mention of the treat, the three pets get out of their doze and excitedly nuzzle at Steve’s legs. 

He’s in the middle of teaching Grace why maps with different colors were important - while checking that Joanie and Charlie don’t start a pretzel fight _again_ \- when Steve’s cell phone buzzes, showing that a new video of _Single dad: step by step_ uploaded. 

Steve’s too busy and entertained explaining what he found outside the office’s door when Danny came out. Too busy to notice that, for the second time in two weeks, he got an update exactly when Danny was not there. 

It was the first time he got hurt, really hurt, in a mission while having Joan with him. Steve didn’t mean to get stabbed by a crazy narc, it just happened. He would have done everything to avoid watching Joan coming to his hospital room, in Danny’s arms, with tears on her cheeks and her eyes full of fear. But it happened. Now, he’s homebound. The doctor ordered him two days of complete bed rest. And now he’s helping the Task Force by doing some research and writing some reports and application forms. 

He’s still in bed, notebook in his lap, working on some forms. To help him take care of Joan while he can’t move too much or lift too much weight, Jerry is downstairs playing with Joan. Danny, Kono and Chin took turns trying to entertain Joanie and keep Steve on bed rest. So far, it’s been mildly successful because Steve had never spent so much day-time lying on his bed. Except that time Kono babysat Joan for a day and Danny and him had had sex for twelve hours straight. 

Steve’s phone goes off: Danny is calling him. 

“Hey! What’s taking so long,” Steve asks. Danny was supposed to be home an hour ago. 

“Hello, babe, I’m doing fantastic. Thank you so much for asking. Love you, by the way,” Danny replies, sarcasm heavy in his tone. 

“I just miss you,” says Steve, knowing that will win Danny over. 

“You sap,” Danny says, and his voice tells Steve everything he needs to know. “The video footage of the dash camera is taking forever to upload. I don’t know why I’m doing this…”

“Because you promised Chin that you’ll do it if you could drive all the time while I was on leave,” Steve reminds him. 

“Shit...anyway. It still has some twenty minutes to go, our wifi is crap. When that’s done, can you check it’s in our cloud?” 

“Sure, it should send an email saying you edited the content of the folder. But twenty minutes? Are you uploading two videos at the time?”

Danny doesn’t reply. 

“How many dash cameras do we have?” Steve asks. 

“One in every car. Don’t get anxious. Just nineteen more minutes, ok?”

Steve sighs.

“Ok, Danno.” 

Eighteen minutes later Steve receives an email saying that D. Williams changed the content of the folder “evidence”. He takes his phone to text Danny and confirms that the video is up and he notices that he has a notification from youtube. _Sauceandmotz_ uploaded a new video. 

Steve frowns. 

He didn’t even have time to remember why he found that weird when Joan shrieks in happiness and Jerry yells in pain. 

“Not my hair!” Jerry pleads. 

Steve sighs and, carefully, really carefully, gets out of bed. 

\--

The fourth and final hint, are the braids during Joan’s party. 

The mission was complicated, they spent thirty six hours reviewing the details of the op that took a month to plan and arrange. Everything had to be perfect, otherwise they not only risked their lives, but the security of the United States. Those kinds of operations were not an usual task for Steve anymore; because of the task force and his family, he had spent less and less time in situations of high danger. Even if Danny doesn’t believe him, he had changed his career for them, for all of his ohana. But they needed someone with experience in the field and with nerves of steel, and Steve was the man. He couldn’t do anything but agree. 

What was it? Classified. Where? Classified. When? Classified? How? Classified. _When are you going to be back, you animal?_ Not classified but unknown. 

Steve was lucky he just ended up with a broken wrist, a gunshot on his shoulder, bruised ribs and a mild concussion. 

“I’ve been informed that a very angry short man demanded to be flown here as soon as possible after receiving a call from a location that is not supposed to allow phones,” Joe says as a way of greeting, entering the infirmary. “And that said a very angry short man managed to get into a plane that’s not supposed to allow civilians, either.”

“Danny is a cop, he’s not a civilian,” Steve says, voice still gruff. 

“I admit that he has more experience in our field than your normal cop, son. But I’m still amazed at his ability to undermine military protocol. It must be why you love him.” Joe sits down in the chair besides Steve’s bed. 

“One of many reasons,” Steve admits. “Is he traveling alone?”

“Yes,” Joe says and Steve frowns. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Steve replies. 

He hopes Danny left Joan with Kono, Chin or any other member of the Kelly-Kalakaua family. Or Jerry, Jerry is good with her. Hell, even Kamekona can be an option that Steve would like better. If Danny left her with Rachel, Steve is going to be pissed. He doesn’t trust that woman. He’s forced to trust her with Grace and Charlie, but if it were for him, both Grace and Charlie would have a permanent residence in the McGarrett-Williams household. 

“The op was a success,” Joe says, and Steve nods. “But I’m worried about you, and the ones who depend on you.”

“I’m fine,” Steve replies curtly. 

“I know. But I can’t help but wonder about Joan. She is Mary’s daughter, believe it or not I care about her, too. Have you done the paperwork to list her as your beneficiary?”

Steve doesn’t answer. He hasn’t. He added her to his current insurance because the Government required it so he could become her legal guardian. But he had completely forgotten about the Navy part of the paperwork. He was too busy trying to keep her alive to remember more paperwork.

“You have to think about her future,” 

“You think I’m not taking good care of her?” Steve snaps, looking at Joe with hard eyes. 

“Not at all. I think you’re being an excellent father to her and to Williams’ kids. But you have to think ahead.”

“I’m not thinking about dying or getting hurt on purpose,” Steve retorts, a little bit angry. 

“In our line of work, that decision is not in our hands,” Joe says with finality. Steve doesn’t reply, he just turns his head against the pillow and closes his eyes. “I’ll leave you to rest. The plane lands in three hours.”

Danny is mad, angry, worried, relieved and sad. It’s amazing how someone can express so many and different emotions while ranting, moving hands, and pacing without missing a beat. The sound of Danny’s voice is reassuring, so much that Steve almost drifts off to sleep just by listening to Danny. In the end, Danny pecks his cracked and dry lips and caresses his hair until Steve finally falls asleep. 

Twenty four hours later, they’re in a plane back to Oahu. 

“I’m going to adopt Joanie,” Steve says to Danny when they’re driving back home. 

“I’m all about that, babe, don’t get me wrong. But why the sudden change? Is there an issue with the guardian status?” Danny asks, eyes on the road but one of his hands rests against Steve’s thigh. 

“She’ll have more protection that way.” 

“Mmm,” Danny hums, and then adds. “I think it’s a good idea. Way better than almost getting killed in the middle of nowhere,” and he starts to rant again about Steven’s inability of not getting shot. 

Since the beginning Steve knew he wasn’t going to raise Joan as if he was her dad. He wasn’t, he was her uncle. He’ll do everything a parent has to do, but she’ll know she had a mom named Mary that loved her more than anything in the world and a dad, somewhere, that her mom didn’t care much about so neither will they. But with an adoption, as Joan’s adopted father, she’ll have more protection and more rights, even if she still calls him Uncle Steve. 

The process is longer than what Steve wanted, but after months and months of waiting, they finally had a date with the judge. Joan didn’t have an idea of what was going on, but she was excited to get dressed in a fancy dress, to go out in her Uncle Steve’s big truck and to have her Danno fix her hair in a complex braid. 

When the judge approved the motion and Steve was now, legally, Joan’s dad, he hugged his little niece in a tight hug. She found it weird that some lady in a black robe was saying that her Uncle was her dad, but she liked hugs, so she just hugged back. Everything was better when Danno joined the hug. 

At the house, Kono had organized a huge party, it seemed like half the island was in their backyard. But Steve is way too happy to really care, and Joan is delighted to play with more kids. He barely manages to take her dress off and put her in something more comfortable before she’s jumping up and down and joining the other kids. 

“Mary would be glad with everything you’re doing for her,” Kono says, sitting beside him on the couch, handing him a beer. 

“I hope so, I really do,” Steve replies, drinking from his beer. A bittersweet feeling invading him at the thought of his late sister. 

“I hope you two are not plotting to make something explode today,” says Danny, approaching them and sitting in the arm of the couch. 

“No promises,” Kono replies, making Danny shake his head. “Hey, brah, where did you manage to find a cake that big in such short notice?”

“Well, you see that Grace has a friend whose father is…” and Danny loses himself in the tale of the cake. 

Steve just listens, enjoying the conversation and the happy mood of the party. He doesn't know how long he spends just talking with Danny and Kono when Joan comes running towards them. She’s not crying, but she’s clearly upset, her lips pursed in a pout. Her hair looks like a tornado just went over it. 

“Danno,” she says. “My hair pretty again, please?” She asks with puppy eyes. 

“Of course, Cupcake. C’mere,” Danny smiles at Joan, who goes to him excitedly, turning around so Danny can work. 

When Steve watches Danny braid Joan’s hair it suddenly hits. 

He knows exactly where he had seen that exact scene before. Maybe a different hair and a different little girl, but the same hands with the same care. Now he knows where he recognized the hands, and the views, and the posting schedule. Steve holds himself still until Joan’s hair is done. He demands a kiss on his cheek which his niece gives him giggling, and then she’s off to the races. 

“Danny, mind going upstairs with me for a second?” Steve says, voice serious, looking directly at Danny. 

“Uh-huh, I’ll keep everyone busy, boss. Don’t you worry,” Kono says, winking at them. 

“Kono, please...but sure. Lead the way, babe,” Danny replies. 

Once they’re inside their bedroom, Steve locks the door and turns to look at Danny, who’s looking back at him with curious eyes. 

“You’re _njsauceandmotz_ on YouTube,” Steve says, directly. “Once a week, you upload a video for your Single Dads: step by step.”

Danny sighs and sits on the bed. He doesn’t look upset or happy, just neutral. 

“Yes. I’m that user. Yes, I post videos on the internet. How did you find out?” Danny asks. 

“You taught me how to change Joanie’s first diaper, since then I watched all of your videos, and watch every week when you post.”

There’s a long stretch of silence. 

“Why didn’t you tell me? You’re quite famous, Danny. Almost two million followers,” Steve asks. 

“You never asked...I thought that if you found me recording or uploading the videos I was going to tell you but...it never happened,” Danny answers. “It’s not a secret, Grace knows, she helps out. I never intended on keeping it a secret from you.”

Steve walks towards him and sits beside Danny on the bed. At first, he doesn’t say anything but takes Danny’s right hand in between his. 

“I had a crush on you. Your hands were really handsome and masculine, and you knew so much about parenting that I thought you were a really attractive internet man,” Steve declares. 

“Uh, I guess my hands revealed my identity, didn’t they?” Steve just agrees, he’s not willing to admit that it took him nearly a year to connect all the clues. “What do you think?”

“I think that if you had told me sooner, I could have helped you out to have more time to edit and stuff,” Steve replies honestly. 

“Are you serious?” Danny sounds surprised. 

“Of course. Love your videos and love you.” Steves moves to kiss him, caressing Danny’s face with his free hand.

“Lucky me, then,” Danny says before meeting Steve halfway to kiss him. 

Downstairs, the party is at full blast. The sound of happy children and entertained adults fills the air. For a few seconds, Danny and Steve enjoy the privacy of their room to share some steamy kisses, delighted in the love they share. When Danny kisses him deeply, Steve is glad he doesn’t need a tutorial to do this, but he’s willing to accept someone on one physical demonstration if nj _sauceandmotz_ is amenable. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!


End file.
